VIDEO RENTALS : ‘Steel’ Gets a Grip on First Place

“Steel Magnolias,” the all-star female drama that’s a big hit among female renters, swept past second-ranked “Tango and Cash” to the top of the Billboard magazine rental chart. The strongest new competitor for the No. 1 position is “The War of the Roses.” Fans are so fascinated by the warring Roses that this black comedy rocketed to No. 4 in just two weeks. Look for it to take over the top spot sometime in the next few weeks. “We’re No Angels,” with Robert DeNiro and Sean Penn--a lukewarm attraction when it played theaters--is doing just modest rental business, moving up four notches to No. 19. “Family Business,” the star-studded (Sean Connery and Dustin Hoffman) box-office dud, debuted at No. 31.

* Expected to be one of the mightiest box-office hits last Christmas, “She-Devil” turned out to be one of the season’s biggest bombs--pulling in a meager $14.5 million. Fans didn’t turn out in bunches to see TV star Roseanne Barr sparring with Meryl Streep for the affections of Ed Begley Jr. This comedy hasn’t been a rental smash either, but its star power has attracted some renters. No. 12 after two weeks, it could crack the Top 10 next week.

Ranking Weeks Ranking 2 Weeks On Rental Top Rentals Last Week Ago Chart 1. “Steel Magnolias” 3 9 4 (RCA/Columbia) 2. “Tango and Cash” (Warner) 2 4 4 3. “Back to the Future 1 1 8 Part II”(MCA/Universal) 4. “The War of the Roses” 7 ... 2 (CBS-Fox) 5. “The Fabulous Baker Boys” 4 2 7 (IVE) * “She-Devil” (Orion) 19 ... 2